//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Tribe by Tribe // Story: What a wonderful world // by a touch of sparkles //------------------------------// “Please all of you calm down. Stay here and I will go see what’s happening” Umbralis instructed his umbrum. However in response there was a collection of disagreements. Many along the lines of him being too important to potentially loose, for them and the world. “We should all go. Whatever’s down their can’t take us all” one Umbrum shouted out to the colossal mass of tribes. “We don’t know what’s doing it. What if it can take us all?” another called back. Umbralis scanned over the mass that was all shouting at each other, panic controlling them. Then he called out “Khaldith, Galacian, Paseai” “that’s us” Sombra whispered to his sire. They were the Galacian’s. the three tribes made their way through the crowd towards their god. Sombra looked up at the majestic stallion. “You three tribes are the ones I trust the most to go into the most dangerous parts of the North. I want you three to go South and investigate. If there is something new do not approach it, come back and report to me. Now go, and make sure you come back” Umbralis commanded them, with a nod and a bow the three tribes left to their caves. Sombra, despite leaving the safety of the eye hundreds of times suddenly felt fear coursing through him. He and his family, his tribe, were being sent to a place where tribes were disappearing. Tribes always come back, even the ones who braved the open waters came back, at least he thought they all did. It just wasn’t right. He ignored what most of his tribe said, he wanted to stay home yet what if he never saw them again? But he didn’t want to be labelled a wimp as he was in one of the most trusted tribes. He grabbed Binkie and cuddled it tightly. “Sombra” He heard his sire. “Coming” he responded dully. He held Binkie in his mouth, not wanting to let go of his one and only possession. Sombra followed his family as they headed towards the edge of the eye to head south. His dam turned to him, he could see the unease in her eyes. “Sombra. I know you love your Binkie and you hug it when scared. But this time leave it behind. If we have to make a sudden move you may not get to pick him up and you’ll lose him” she said calmly to him. “But what if someone steals him?” his voice was slightly muffled by the plush. “Please, just leave it here” he nodded as he turned back. But he didn’t head towards their cave. Instead he trotted his way back over to Umbralis. The god had now laid down in the heavy snow, his wings rested out by his sides. “Do they want you to stay here?” he asked. Sombra shook his head then placed Binkie in the snow in front of Umbralis’s hooves. “Can you look after Binkie please” “Oh. Of course I can” Umbralis took the plush in his magic, a swirl of black with green fire. Sombra watched Binkie fly away and dissolved to shadow in the god’s giant mane. “Sombra!” he heard his family call out to him, he nuzzled Umbralis in thanks before cantering back over to his tribe. They all left the calm of the eye, he was used to the perilous winds by now. Sombra saw the other two tribes to their sides, which were closing in towards them. Then the three tribes stopped as the chieftains met in the centre of the conjoined group. As they spoke he looked around the sea of grey and black. He saw different beads of all colours, some mated others not. There were some with children which had grown up. But Sombra noticed he was by far the youngest, only having just left his foal years at five hundred. He slinked under his sire’s legs, his long chest and belly fur glided across his back. “You ok bud?” Sombra let out a measly squeak in response. Such a small squeak was enough to garner his dam’s attention, who knelt down and crossed their horns. “You’re going to be ok, just stay with me and your sire” she comforted him with a gentle voice. “To be fair, this isn’t our territory, even I don’t know what’s down here” His sire stated. Then his dam straitened and looked him in the eyes. “You’re not helping” “Well it's better than lying to him” The tribes began to move again which Sombra left his sires legs. They all moved in one group, the chieftains were all at the front as they combined. The large tracks left in the snow were soon to be blown away, the snow becoming untouched. Unfamiliar mountains and plateaus surrounded them. Only one tribe knew where they were as their heads were high and their ears didn’t flick with every sound. Sombra however was distracted by a creature sitting atop one umbrum’s back. A pure white bird with void black eyes. Its head seemed to grow its own feather crown. He left his parents side, trotting over to see the bird closer. It looked down at him, despite its black eyes it looked so comforting and friendly. Even though the bird hadn’t shifted the Umbrum seemed to know that Sombra was next to her. “have you never met a Lumos?” the mare asked him. “No” “So you haven’t heard the rhyme yet?” “No” she had picked his interest now. Then she started to speak. “When your life is bleak, And your head becomes weak, Take your sorrow, And cry to a shadow, In hours to come, The bird will show up, With feathers of light, And make your life bright” The rhyme captivated Sombra, he had seen a few of the birds flying around yet he didn’t know about the rhyme that bought them to you. Even if his blissfully ignorant mind didn't quite understand the meaning. He felt his sire grab him by the scruff. “Sorry” “No its ok. He was just curious” His sire dragged him back to his own tribe where they all continued the walk south. They didn’t stop for hours and hours. Sombra lost count of how long they had been going and he grew tired. He gave a large yawn, but now he was too large to rest on another’s back. In the distance he could see one of the tallest mountains he had ever seen. It reached high into the sky like a spire. There was many other mountains surrounding it which got smaller and smaller. There seemed to be a glow behind them. The tribes split of again into their three families. His tribe spilt of to the right and followed the mountains around. The clambered over the unknown edges, Sombra tired legs slipped but he still kept control of them. “There’s a cave up there we can rest in” Folwin pointed out. It didn’t take much convincing for the tribe to make the short climb up. The cave was small, more of an indent in the side of the mountain, but they still crammed themselves in anyway. Sombra drifted of within moments of lying down between his parents. After his half hour nap he found the rest of his family still in there’s. He shuffled out from between his parents. They were awkwardly cuddling, they hadn’t moved their lower halves in order to not wake him. He took a peek outside and over the other side of the mountain. It was almost as if the North just stopped. There was a giant circle where the snow and wind didn’t touch. The ground was a strange green and there was a dense ring of trees around its border. In the middle however there was a strange structure. Even through the snow it blinded him with how shiny it was. “It’s so…strange” Yesqen said from behind him, she and her brother had both woken up and followed him outside. “Yeah…” he replied. Their curious minds were stirring. Not thinking of danger. “Is that green stuff grass?” Yesric asked squinting his eyes at the grass, which was so green it reflected yellow. “But it’s not normally that green is it? Isn’t it supposed to be really dark?” Sombra stated, his mind flashing back to when the snowy plateau melted and the long forgotten and buried grass sprung back to life. They stood their marvelling at the strange patch of brightness, completely ignoring the rising adults preparing to start walking again. “Are you sure we should go down? I think we should head back instead” Folwin asked Vulmon concerned for their safety. “We can hide in those trees. We can see what’s going on for a few turns then we can head back” Vulmon replied staring out to the dense forest. “A couple sleeps should be enough. Anymore maybe risky if other tribes are disappearing” Nevada stated. The tribe held their trust in their Chieftain and Chieftains mate and agreed silently. And so they slowly made their way down the mountain, more elegantly now that they had energy in their systems. As they descended Sombra noticed how some of the trees were significantly taller than the others. The trees closest to the North were lightly dusted with snow. They descended and eventually they were at the bottom of the mountain which now towered above them. Sombra’s nose was assaulted with all sorts of new smells. He could smell strange new animals when he sniffed the trees, along with seeing little, tiny critters scuttle up and down. he attempted to sniff the branches of the trees put their pointy leaves poked him in the nose. Sombra bounced around in this new patch of world, at least he did. “Sombra. we don’t know what’s out here. Stop playing” his dam told him off. He calmed down but he wasn’t happy about it. They started to skulk through the trees slowly getting closer to the strange structure in the centre.